Wisconsin Builder | An Elephant in the Room

To the rescue

Doyle This Thanksgiving, it was hard for tenants of the Dudgeon Center for Community Programs in Madison to count their blessings.

They could, though, count the number of broken windows (16) and spent fire extinguishers (3) vandals left behind when they hit the privately funded nonprofit over the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

The building houses Wingra School, the Madison Creative Arts Program, Silver Dragon Tai Chi and Qigong School, the Hubert Art School and the Dudgeon-Monroe Neighborhood Association, which created the center to save the former Dudgeon School from being razed and provide space for child-centered and community-based programs.

The extensive vandalism rendered the center temporarily unusable.

But despite that setback, the center has at least one thing to be thankful for: Engineered Construction Inc.

"We have a 24-hour immediate-response program," said William Jackson, director of marketing for the Verona firm. "In Dane County, we're the go-to company."

The firm, which specializes in insurance restoration work, can be paged any time, day or night, when fire, water or wind — or a vandal — damages a commercial or residential property.

"We mobilize," said Jackson, "we send out manpower, work out the price with the insurance company. We come to an agreed-upon price and go at it.

"Over at the school, I probably have 70 employees there right now."

Besides dealing with insurance adjusters, Engineered Construction coordinates emergency plumbing and electrical and HVAC services. It also secures the site and handles environmental concerns, including asbestos and lead abatement, as well as general cleanup.

Engineered Construction's quick response means the center reopened Dec. 3 to its pre-loss condition.

"It's a historic building," said Jackson. "It's been around since 1920."

And while some may see vandalism as a childish prank, Jackson said this act cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

"People think it's a minor deal, but it caused a lot of damage," he said.

He said his company's services are usually learned about through word of mouth or referral. But its 24-hour emergency service can be reached at 608-657-2437.

There's another number that might come in handy too: 608-266-6014. That's the Madison area Crime Stoppers, which is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the vandals.

"They don't have any good leads yet," Jackson said.

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